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Annual breast screening reduces deaths by almost 40%August 21, 2017

Annual breast cancer screening with mammography starting at age 40 results in a nearly 40% reduction in breast cancer-specific deaths compared with screening at less-frequent intervals, according to a study published online August 21 in the journal Cancer.

The findings offer further evidence that starting screening early is of benefit to women, said lead author Dr. Elizabeth Kagan Arleo of Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in a statement released by Cornell.

"Our findings are important and novel because this is the first time the three most widely discussed recommendations for screening mammography have been compared head to head," she said. "Our research would be put to good use if, because of our findings, women chose to begin annual screening mammography starting at age 40. Over the long term, this would be significant because fewer women would die from breast cancer."